Show Summary

More romance. More intrigue. More adventure. More than ever, daytime viewers got what they ask for in this, ABC Daytime's "telenova style" drama, Port Charles, a spin-off of the award-winning drama series General Hospital. Port Charles made its debut with a two-hour, primetime special on Sunday, June 1, 1997. Created by the production team from General Hospital, Port Charles delivered the same exciting mixture of romance, suspense and adventure. On Monday, December 4, 2000, Port Charles launched a new kind of storytelling with the thirteen-week story arc format. Fate, the first in the succession of "books," kicked off with over one million viewers watching. The third book, Tainted Love, which launched on June 4, 2001, with a vampish twist, successfully intrigued young viewing audiences across the nation. Port Charles focused on the romantic lives, loves and adventures of several popular characters that originated on General Hospital, and the dynamic young doctors who strove to balance their demanding careers with their tumultuous personal lives. During the show's time on the air, Port Charles received several Daytime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series (2003) and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kin Shriner's nomination in 1998 and Thorsten Kaye in 2003). The show garnered its first Daytime Emmy in May 2000 for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup. In addition to numerous Soap Opera Digest Award nominations, Kin Shriner received the 1999 award for Outstanding Male Scene-Stealer and Jon Lindstrom took home the 2000 award for Best Supporting Male. The show has been recognized by the ALMA Awards, the Prism Awards, the Casting Society of America, Center for Disease Control and the Young Star Awards. In 2000, Port Charles won the Media Access/Disability Awareness Award for the third year in a row. The show was taped in Los Angeles. In the later years, Julie Hanan Carruthers was the executive producer of Port Charles. Husband and wife James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten served as the head writers. The show aired the following twelve books: Book 1: Fate (premiered December 4, 2000) Book 2: Time in a Bottle (premiered March 5, 2001) Book 3: Tainted Love (premiered June 4, 2001) Book 4: Tempted (premiered September 3, 2001) Book 5: Miracles Happen (premiered December 3, 2001) Book 6: Secrets (premiered January 2, 2002) Book 7: Superstition (premiered April 1, 2002) Book 8: Torn (premiered July 1, 2002) Book 9: Naked Eyes (premiered September 30, 2002) Book 10: Surrender (premiered December 30, 2002) Book 11: Desire (premiered April 2, 2003) Book 12: The Gift (premiered July 7, 2003) There were a total of 1626 episodes that aired during the show's run, including the special two-hour pilot.moreless

"Port Charles" started off slow as a traditional soap about a hospital but was reinvigorated when it broke from the traditional soap mold in telling supernatural storyline arcs with a beginning, middle and ending, similar to Mexican novelas.moreless

I personally loved this show! I was and still am a big fan of "General Hospital" and looked forward to this spin-off show. At first, I thought the show started off slow with storylines that weren't very unique and used before in other soaps. Added to that fact were the constant cross-overs from its big sister soap, "GH" and the show had trouble finding an identity of its own. At first, the show focused on the lives and loves of a group of medical interns at "General Hospital" (think ER as a soap opera). Ironically, at the time, "GH" was not focused on the hospital, but focused on mob storylines so "Port Charles" picked up the slack regarding hospital-related storylines. However, after three years, producers decided to try something different. Borrowing a concept from the Mexican novelas, producers introduced short term story arcs, called books, which had a clear beginning, middle and ending. The story arcs mostly focused on supernatural elements such as vampires, angels, magic candles and time travel. Initially, I was skeptical about the show breaking format, but when the show introduced its 3rd book, "Tainted Love," I was forever hooked. "Tained Love" was probably the show's most popular and highly rated book. It introduced the villainous but oh-so sexy vampire Caleb and after that the world of "Port Charles" would never be the same. However, after 3 years of the book format, ABC cancelled the show citing low ratings and a need for cost-cutting. I was extremely disappointed, especially since I thought the show had plenty of mileage and stories to tell. Luckily, SoapNet still reruns the show (only the story arcs and not the pre-story arc episodes) so I can still get a daily dose of my favorite show.moreless

Best and most underappreciated soap ever!

I miss this soap a lot. I hate that it's on in the middle of the night now. It was a lot of fun to watch and the acting was better than you see on most soaps. The stories were inventive too. Everyone thinks of it as the soap that was out there with vampires, werewolves, angels, etc. and it was. What I like though is that it was out there from the start, with the general homicide storyline that kicked it off. But it had a human element too and I loved that all the characters were interrelated.moreless

"Port Charles" is a soap that took daytime TV to a whole new level.

A spin-off to the long-running "General Hospital," the show debuted on ABC in 1997. Originally, PC centered around the lives and loves of a group of interns, as well as familiar faces from GH, like Scott Baldwin, Kevin Collins, and Lucy Coe. But as the series progressed, it evolved into a format very similar to Spanish-language telenovelas and storylines began to focus on the supernatural, including ghosts, vampires, and angels. Despite having a cult following, PC was canceled in October of 2003. And even know it's been off the air for almost five years, the show continued to make a huge impact on soap fans.moreless

This is a great show with memorible characters, great polt lines, and amazing twists. Unforgettable scenes in this great soap opera spin- off!

This is a great show with memorible characters, great polt lines, and amazing twists. Unforgettable scenes in this great soap opera spin- off! Lucy and Kevin are a couple you can always route for, Livvie is a character you can feel sorry for and always forgive no matter what happened. Ian and Eve have a bumpy time, but you will always cheer for the love between them. Caleb may be evil, but his plans will leave you at the edge of your seat waiting for more. Watch Port Charles!!moreless

Port Charles was never a true “Soap Opera”. It was a dynamic, unpredictable, romantic, supernatural story that kept you spellbound with every episode. It was only a one half hour show, but it was packed full of an entertainment beyond words.moreless

Considering all of the shows on ABC, the one show that should NOT have been canceled was “Port Charles”. What-a-show! A classic in every respect. Reruns of this show are now aired on SoapNet. So, if you get this cable channel, I highly recommend that you watch it. There is nothing on TV that even comes close to this type of story telling. “Dark Shadows”, back in the 60’s, was another classic and Port Charles came close to this type of show. But Port Charles, in my opinion, topped even that show. The cast, the electric chemistry between the characters, the storylines, and the heart-racing episodes come second to none. I loved this show like no other, and there are many that stand in my shoes that love and miss it as much. Please bring this show back, or at least make a two-hour movie event of it.moreless

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